“Mobile Only” Starbucks May Be Coming Soon

Much has been made in recent months of Starbucks’ mobile capabilities, which are widely regarded as at least among the top of the heap for food service operations.

With good reason; its app is a masterwork of mobile payment and mobile ordering as well as information provision.

In fact, sometimes, the app works too well, and stores aren’t set up to handle both foot traffic and mobile orders. Thus, Starbucks is looking into the notion of a mobile-only store, which might help answer the problem completely.

Basically, Starbucks will be opening one of these stores at its Seattle headquarters, serving as a test run to see if a store that only takes mobile orders can smooth out the customer experience.

Since Starbucks headquarters has fully two branches for the 5,000 or so employees at headquarters, it’s easy to see how a change in policy can affect a large number of users, at least in a major urban center.

One of the two stores is only for employee orders, and it’s one of the top three stores for mobile ordering, so it should make for at least a good start on gauging impact. Interestingly, the new stores may include a large windowed area so that shoppers can see their drink being made, which could end up being a draw.

It is kind of comforting to see food and drink being made; it provides peace of mind against potential adulteration like the kind seen in the film “Waiting.” Naturally, most food service professionals don’t engage in such behavior, but it’s nice to see what’s going on to help ensure one of that vanishingly slim number of bad apples isn’t at a particular store.

Clearly, Starbucks needs to get a better handle on how mobile affects orders and processes, and dedicating a store might be a good start. Starbucks needs to keep in mind, however, that one Seattle store for employees isn’t a universal reflection of conditions on the ground, so some further expansion of the concept might be in order. Still, Starbucks is clear on one point: mobile is changing the world, and knowing how it’s changing things is vital to long-term success.